The present invention is directed to a calf feeder bottle and more specifically to a bottle especially adapted to supply dry feed to a calf through a nipple having a flexible flap valve.
The use of nipples on a bottle which are especially designed for feeding a calf are old and well-known in the art as evidenced by the U.S. Pat. No. to Ezell - 2,699,778. However, the nipple disclosed in the Ezell patent is only suitable for use with a liquid feed.
The use of flexible flap valves for dispensing a semi-fluid or pasty material from a flexible squeeze-type container is also old and well-known in the art as evidenced by the U.S. Pat. No. to Abarr - 2,546,709 and the U.S. Pat. No. to Despain et al - 3,726,436. In the Abarr patent the flexible flap valve members are provided with pairs of opposed internal projections which define passages for the material being dispensed and which act as rocker members or fulcrums which cause the engaged flaps to separate on one side of the fulcrum when the body of the bottle is squeezed on the opposite side of the fulcrum. Such a self-closing tube would be totally unsuitable for dispensing dry feed to a calf since the calf would not be able to squeeze the body of the tube on the opposite side of the fulcrum to open the flap valve. The flap valve of Despain et al is also designed to operate when pressure is applied to the container rather than the valve and utilizes a complicated four-flap arrangement which would make the valve totally unsuitable for dispensing dry calf feed.
The use of holders to support a bottle in an inverted dispensing position is also well-known in the art as evidenced by the U.S. Pat. No. to Wetherbee - 3,938,769. In the Wetherbee patent the bottle holder is completely separate from the bottle. The bottle is provided with a cap having a dispensing tube adapted to dispense liquid to an animal when the bottle is in the inverted position.
The U.S. Pat. Nos. to Mulford - 2,065,012 and Johnson et al 4,101,043 each disclose a dispensing container having a support connected thereto for supporting the container in an inverted dispensing position. In Mulford a wire hook is slidably mounted on the outside of the bottle and is movable from a retracted position when the bottle is right side up to a projecting position when the bottle is inverted for dispensing. The patent to Johnson et al discloses a support clip which is slidably mounted in the bottom of a container which is movable to a projecting position for hanging the container in an inverted position from an adjacent support.